“We’re Canadian” … “Me Too!”… or Jeremie and Manu buy Juice in the Big City. "On est Canadien! ”Moi aussi!" : Jérémie et Manu achètent du jus en ville

Well, Japan is safe. The boys have been wandering around the city every day exploring new places and interesting things to do. They have explored the neighborhood around the Embassy, with Pablo, with me, with Lisa, with their friends, with other nannies on compound…. The time had come to let them go out on a small errand by themselves and discover that this city is their new home! So Pablo and I decided to let them go and buy juice… by themselves…… It started off pretty well. “Jeremie, would you like to go and get us some juice?” “By myself?” “Sure, or Manu could go with you…” “OK” And then they left. Not before we had given them all kinds of instructions and reminders. “Remember, you want to go to Yamaya… you won’t have to cross the big street… it’s right by where we take the metro all of the time….” They set off like two confident adventurers on a quest that might leave them with enough money to buy a few treats, and vowed to be right back. And so we waited… 5min, 10 min, 15 min, 20min… soon I had to be back at work so I decided to wander out after them and escort them back home. Except that I didn’t see them, and on my way back when I asked the Embassy security guard, he hadn’t seen them either. By the time I rushed back to the apartment to let Pablo know that our early experiment had been a mistake, I walked into the house only to find that Jeremie and Manu had safely returned home! “What happened? How did you guys get home?” I quickly enquired. “We just walked here.” answered Manu. “Tell her the whole story.” interjected Pablo, and there it began! It turns out that while our boys started on the right path to the convenience store located two blocks away from our home, they somehow got sidetracked and ended up on the main street that leads to the Embassy. Someway down this metropolitan boulevard, Manu had some inclination that they might be lost and began to cry. Jeremie, however, reassured him that HE knew where they were going. You will be happy to note, however, that the plight of a young boy crying, even if he is accompanied by a confident older brother, does not go unnoticed in the vibrant metropolis that is Tokyo! A young man walked over to the two boys and asked them if everything was OK. Manu explained that they were lost, while Jeremie reassured the Samaritan that he had everything under control. “We’re Canadian!” interjected Manu in despair. “So am I.” answered the kindly fellow. “Where are your parents? What are you doing here?” “We need to buy Orange Juice, and I have money.” answered Jeremie. “Well, you can buy Orange Juice at the AM PM,” answered the man pointing in the direction of a general store. From there, Jeremie assured the young man that he did indeed have control of the situation. He thanked him for his help, and he and Manu went to make their purchase. When they asked the attendant where they could find the Orange Juice, Jeremie showed him his money, and the man explained that they could buy two bottles. The boys, anxious to make sure that they wouldn’t be overburdened on their return trip, decided to only buy one bottle. They returned home without incident, although, Manu does not seem too keen to make any further forays on his own in the big city for a little while…. Until Pablo pointed out that maybe next time, he could buy a treat!

Le Japon étant un des pays les plus sécuritaires au monde, Crista et moi avons décidé d'envoyer les enfants chercher du jus seuls chez Yamaya au coin de la rue. Histoire de les rendre plus indépendants. Jérémie était enchanté de pouvoir aller se balader dans Tokyo comme un homme, Manu semblait partant, mais un peu moins sûr de lui. Nous étant assuré que Jérémie se souvenait bien de quel magasin il s'agissait et comment s'y rendre (nous y sommes allé très souvent), je leurs ai donné les 500 yens et ils étaient partis. 10 ; 15 ; 20 minutes plus tard, Crista n'en pouvait plus et décide d'aller voir comment leur aventure se déroule. Elle ne les trouve pas en chemin vers Yamaya et revient pour m'avertir que notre idée n'était peut-être pas si bonne. Heureusement, les enfants étaient déjà de retour quand Crista est revenu. Nous avons alors appris les détails de leur petite excursion : Jérémie avait manqué le seul coin de rue ou il devait tourner et les enfants se sont dirigés vers Aoyamadori, le grand boulevard ou se trouves les magasins huppés genre Louis Vuiton et Coco Chanel. Ils ont marché pendant quelques minutes en direction d'un autre magasin qu'ils connaissent. Avec chaque pas qu'il prenait, Manu perdait de plus en plus confiance et finalement s'est mis à pleurer. Un jeune homme s'est approché d'eux et voici la conversation qui suivit : Jeune homme : Vous êtes perdus ? Jérémie : Non Manu : Oui Jeune homme : (en pointant vers Manu) pourquoi il pleure ? Jérémie : Il croit qu'on est perdu. Manu : On est Canadien!!!! Jeune homme : Moi aussi!!! Pourquoi vos parents ne sont pas avec vous? Jérémie : On doit aller acheter du jus d'orange, et j'ai des sous! Jeune homme : Ah…. Vous pouvez acheter du jus là-bas. (En pointant vers un AMPM, un dépanneur (combini en japonais)). Les enfants : Merci. Et ils entrent acheter leur jus. Jérémie dit qu'il est tout à fait prêt à répéter l'expérience, Manu dit que Jérémie peut y aller s'il veut, mais que lui il ne sort plus sans nous. Il était moins sur quand je lui ai dit que je nous leurs donnerions des sous parfois pour qu'ils puissent s'acheter des bonbons parfois… Crista va faire circuler un courriel pour à l'embassade pour trouver le bon Samaritain Canadien, (surement un employé à l'embassade) qui à secouru nos enfants, pour que nous puissions lui offrir une bière...